Development of a web-based aging monitoring system for an integrity evaluation of the major components in a nuclear power plant

• Published in: International journal of pressure vessels and piping 2010, Vol.87 (1), p.33-40
• Main Authors: Choi, Jae-Boong, Yeum, Seung-Won, Ko, Han-Ok, Kim, Young-Jin, Kim, Hong-Key, Choi, Young-Hwan, Park, Youn-Won
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Applied sciences; Degradation; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fission nuclear power plants; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Integrity; Integrity assessment; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Monitoring; Nuclear power generation; Nuclear power plants; Nuclear safety; Service life; Steel design; Steel tanks and pressure vessels; boiler manufacturing; Virtual plant; Web-based Reality Environment
• ISSN: 0308-0161; 1879-3541
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpvp.2009.11.007

Structural and mechanical components in a nuclear power plant are designed to operate for its entire service life. Recently, a number of nuclear power plants are being operated beyond their design life to produce more electricity without shutting down. The critical issue in extending a lifetime is to maintain the level of safety during the extended operation period while satisfying the international regulatory standards. However, only a small portion of these components are of great importance for a significant aging degradation which would deeply affect the long-term safety and reliability of the related facilities. Therefore, it is beneficial to build a monitoring system to measure an aging status. While a number of integrity evaluation systems have been developed for NPPs, a real-time aging monitoring system has not been proposed yet [1–8]. This paper proposes an expert system for the integrity evaluation of nuclear power plants based on a Web-based Reality Environment (WRE). The proposed system provides the integrity assessment for the major mechanical components of a nuclear power plant under concurrent working environments. In the WRE, it is possible for users to understand a mechanical system such as its size, geometry, coupling condition etc. In conclusion, it is anticipated that the proposed system can be used for a more efficient integrity evaluation of the major components subjected to an aging degradation.